New Delhi, Oct 10 (IANS): As real conversations slowly disappear from our lives, talking to devices is something Indians of all age groups are getting accustomed to.
Voice as a service is the next big thing -- from virtual assistants on your smartphone and laptop to the smart speaker in your living room -- and now the next device that joins the club is a smart plug.
Talking to a plug in a power socket may sound a little weird but Amazon which has mastered the voice-based technology with its all-powerful Alexa offers to make your existing appliances smarter with Smart Plug.
Simply Plug in, open the Alexa app, and start using voice to control your appliances like lights, table fans, night lamps, TVs, Kettle and what not.
What's more, pair it with your Echo device to discover to get more familiar with the plug.
Designed for India (it supports our traditional electric sockets) and handles power outages smoothly.
As Indian homes are used to sudden power outages, the state retention feature ensures that appliances go back to their last state (on/off), in case of power outage and resumption.
Priced at just Rs 1,999, the Amazon Smart Plug is now available on Amazon.in. It is available for Rs 999 when purchased as part of the bundle with Echo Dot.
Let us see if chatting with a smart plug will lessen your pain of not having a friend or a family member near you, especially in these social distancing times.
So if you have smart, Internet of Things (IoT) sensor-driven appliances at home, like lamps, table fans, electric kettle, room coolers, televisions, mobile chargers, air-purifiers, sound bars etc, Amazon smart plug is your go-to device as it centralizes the smart home automation.
Just ask: "Alexa, turn off the fan" or "Alexa, turn on mosquito repellant".
You can create daily customised routines on your Alexa app to automate your activities.
For example, schedule to turn off the night lamp at sunrise and turn on the electric kettle in the kitchen without moving a finger.
Connect Diwali lights to Amazon Smart Plug this time and set up an Alexa schedule to turn them on every evening, or turn off the TV remotely to regulate kids' TV time.
Remember, Amazon Smart Plug can control compatible home appliances that have a physical power on/off switch, and does not support appliances such as AC, geysers, water pumps or heaters.
Conclusion: Amazon Smart Plug will become your companion if you have a smart home. Power comes in all sizes and with this tiny device, home automation only gets seamless and hassle-free.